“Please talk.”
Whatever she desires, I will not grant it to her easily—
“It's lunch time, would you like to go for a walk with me if your time allows?”
“Picnic…did you say picnic?”
He was confused for a moment at this humble request that contradicted his expectations.
***
Suddenly, the picnic basket found its way into his hand.
A walk with Alisto in Blossom Park was enough to completely change her mood.
The clouds were perfect, the breeze was gentle, and the scent of flowers that hit her nose with every gust of wind was magical.
But what she liked most was seeing the picnic basket in Alisto's hand.
The image of Alisto that she saw today for the first time in the office was extremely cold.
A man who blows frost in other people's faces, yet carries a nice picnic basket and goes on a picnic with me as soon as I ask?
Thinking that this “contradiction” is what most attracts female readers to the heroes of romance and fantasy novels, I really succeeded in this acquisition.
Atha glanced at Alisto.
In fact, what she likes most about this acquisition is his face.
'He's so handsome'
I looked at it once, twice, three times, and the conclusion was always the same.
Sure enough, I'm inside a book.
A face like this cannot exist in reality.
Is he just handsome in face?
His well-proportioned body makes the heart skip a beat just by looking at him, not to mention his towering height.
While she was immersed in his contemplation, her heart was stolen.
He felt her gaze, so he bent his head to meet her eyes and asked her: “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Even his voice was so wonderful that it stirred chaos in her being.
Atha almost gave a normal answer and said, “Nothing,” but she changed her mind.
'If I can't say that I'm looking at him because he's handsome, and if I can't say that beautiful is beautiful, then what's the point of getting lost in a book?'
If I remain shy and lacking in confidence and do nothing, what is the difference between this and reality?
'In order to achieve all my dreams of romance and fantasy, I must change first!'
Although there is a dream of a hero who graciously fulfills my every desire, the dream also includes a bold heroine who confuses the hero with her sudden actions.
Let's start the attack.
As the Saint was choosing her words, Alisto's eyes narrowed.
I asked him to go for a walk, but as he expected.
Ordering her couldn't be a simple cakewalk after all
The flirtation she threw in front of everyone and her saying that she wanted to see him.
It seemed that she now intended to demand what she really wanted.
This time, I won't fulfill her request easily—
“You are so handsome”
“……”
Hmm?
Handsome...
Ha, really.
Do people usually say words like this to the face?
I don't know if all young people these days are like this.
Or is this woman alone the exception?
Since he was a failure in matters of love and socialization, he did not know how to act in a situation like this.
“…thanks for the compliment.”
He could barely maintain the politeness of responding to the compliment, and as he raised his head and avoided her gaze, an innocent question came from below: “Are you shy?”
He stifled a sarcastic laugh that almost came out with difficulty.
shyness?
He had never heard that word in his entire life.
And yet—
“Yes, a little…it seems so.”
Admit it.
If this feeling of confusion and inability to find words to respond is called shyness, then it is shyness.
Then this woman said: “Nice.”
...From what side exactly?
If anyone is cute, it's you, little and pretty.
‘…Where are you going suddenly?’
The saint who was walking to his left moved with quick steps to stand close to his right side.
Moments later, his mind completely whitened.
I moved to the side that didn't hold the picnic basket.
To hold his hand.
Her slender fingers that slipped between his were as soft as rose petals.
Although she was holding his hand tightly in her own way, he felt the weakness of that grip.
Was this feeling stemming from regret?
He did not dare to clench his fist for fear of breaking her hand, so he remained standing with a stiff face.
His heart was beating in his chest, not knowing when it rose.
It felt like it was pulsing right under his chin, so much so that he felt the pulse echo in his head.
Then I realize—
Ah.
I lost.
At this moment, he was certain that he could not refuse any request made by the Saint, no matter what it was.
***
Fortunately, the saint did not make any impossible request while he was out of his mind.
Alisto and Atha arrived at the birch forest at the far end of Blossom Garden.
Atha had seen the entrance to this forest several times while wandering through the garden.
At that time, the entrance seemed small and the place was always shaded, so she never entered it.
But once inside, she found the place more comfortable than she had imagined.
The hiking trails were well paved, and there were benches everywhere.
It's like a carefully tended public park.
Atha pointed to a place near a small artificial pond and said: “What do you think there?
The sunlight is reaching the place, and the view looks wonderful.”
“Okay”
So the two arrived at the perfect place for a picnic, but—
“……”
Alisto looked at the saint with some embarrassment.
While Atha pretended to be busy watching the pond.
He waited for a second for her to move, then said in a halting voice: “...I must let go of your hand, so that I can spread the rug.”
Saint Dalal replied: “But I don’t want to let go of your hand.”
If someone heard this, he would ask, “So what do you want?” But Alisto liked this side of the saint.
That way you act like a little puppy who completely ignores the situation at hand.
He let out a light chuckle: “Actually, I didn’t want to let go of your hand either.”
However, the place had to be furnished.
He placed the picnic basket next to him, took out the rug with one hand and tried to shake it out to spread it, then the saint tightened her grip on the hand that was holding hers, and grabbed the rug with the other hand.
The two somehow joined hands to spread the rug, and took out the boxes of food they had brought in the basket.
Atha felt that the whole process was like a nice game of “Pete Bute.”
Most importantly, she loved the fact that they didn't let go of each other's hands even after the rug was completely spread.
And when they finally left their hands to open the lids—
“Sorry...”
“Miss Atha”
At that moment, the eyes of the man and woman who spoke simultaneously met.
As soon as their eyes met, they laughed as if something very interesting had happened.
“Speak first, Miss Atha.”
“No, I want to talk later.
You come first.”
When she would see such scenes in dramas, she would wonder, "Why are they doing that?
Let someone speak first," but when it became her own, she found this romantic atmosphere very enjoyable.
While Atha was enjoying that moment, Alisto’s calm voice reached her ears: “I intend to start the wedding preparations now.”
Atha stopped checking whether there was meat in the food containers and raised her head.
'Marriage preparations?'
While the shocked Saint was choosing her words, Alisto was also feeling worried in his own way.
And how could you not?
From his point of view, the saint was like a rubber ball that would not rest and move from one place to another.
Although she said that her heart was beating hard, she did not give a definitive answer to the marriage proposal, and she tried to escape from time to time.
In the end, she returned, claiming that the position of Empress was a burden on her.
So he was nervous about her reaction to starting the wedding preparations.
After a little hesitation, she said as if she had made up her mind: “I don’t know anything about marriage procedures, so what should I prepare?”
At that moment, Alisto's eyes sparkled.
'I expected this and brought it with me'
With a calm expression, he took out papers he had placed in one side of the picnic basket just in case.
It was a “marriage contract.”
When he proposed, he didn't intend to rush like that.
But this woman was constantly watching for opportunities to escape.
In fact, even now he still suspected that she might try to escape again after putting him at ease.
correct.
He became hasty.
He was determined to steal the Saint's heart and use her ability as he wished, but for some reason, his heart seemed to be the one getting bigger day by day.
If the saint's heart and his were placed on two scales of a scale, which scale would she lean towards?
He knew the answer without thinking deeply.
Despite his dissatisfaction, it is his balance that will tip.
'Fuck'
He wanted to clarify one thing to the saint.
That there had never been a chance to leave him before, and there never would be a chance in the future.